Dola has had a long innings on the tiatr stage, thus making her a
seasoned and matured tiatrist in acting and singing. Dorothy Juliet
Mascarenhas, popularly known as Dola on the Konkani stage, hails originally
from Sangolda in Bardez taluka, but is presently resides at Aquem, Margao in
south Goa.
Born on December 29, 1971, Dola comes from a family of tiatrists
where her father, late Valente Mascarenhas was a writer and director of several
tiatrs and mother, late Rita Mascarenhas acted in the Konkani film ‘Amchem
Noxib’.
As Dola’s father was an employee in MPT, Vasco, she studied in
St Teresa’s Institute till class VI, followed by Lourdes Convent High School,
Saligao till class X. She joined St Xavier’s College, Mapusa, to complete her
higher secondary studies.
When schooling at both the institutes, Dola had ample
opportunities to step on stage and showcase her inborn talents. As a youth, she
was also part of the church choir at Sangolda, which helped her polish her
singing skills.
Besides his job at MPT, Dola’s father, Valente Mascarenhas was
also an artist, who would prepare stage panels and provide to tiatr directors.
“One fine day his friend, late Anthony D’Sa from Cuncolim brought him into
tiatrs and he found a place in one of Saib Rocha’s tiatrs,” she recollected.
As a writer and director, Valente Mascarenhas’ popular tiatrs
include ‘Xevott Krimidoracho’, ‘Inam Rogtacho’, ‘Tarvotteacho Put’, ‘Bim Toxem
Bhat’, ‘Guneanvkari’, ‘Kudd’ddo Bhikari’ and others. At the tender age of 15,
Dola made her first entry into tiatrs in her father’s tiatr ‘Kudd’ddo Bhikari’.
She was later picked
up by A M Araujo from Santa Cruz, who introduced her in the Kala Academy (KA)’s
tiatr competition in tiatr ‘Kallim Kupam’, where she won first prize for acting
in the female category. She continued with the same director in three tiatrs at
the annual tiatr competition, winning first prize in acting consecutively.
Impressed by her
acting skills, another noted writer/director, Avito Fernandes from Merces roped
in Dola in his tiatrs staged at KA’s tiatr competition. He provided her an
opportunity to win prizes in acting and for eight years she was part of the
said competition, winning prizes and proving her caliber as an actor on the
tiatr stage.
Soon after a short
stint in tiatr competition, Michael from Santa Cruz, who was acting in Pascoal
Rodrigues’ tiatr, recommended Dola’s name to the director and she made her
first entry in commercials in tiatr ‘Ami Munis’, as a substitute. Thereafter,
she came full-fledged in Pascoal Rodrigues’ troupe and continued with the same
director for 2-3 years.
In 1999 Dola tied the
knot with Charles Fernando and she took a long break due to commitments in
marriage and family life. “When you have kids around,” she said, “it’s a
different responsibility altogether and talent, stage art takes a backseat and
family comes first.”
After a gap of seven
years, Dola made a comeback on stage in 2007 when she joined comedian Dominic’s
troupe in tiatr ‘Sonvsar Sudhorlo’. She continued with the same director for
three seasons, followed by Mariano Fernandes’ troupe during the monsoons.
Till date Dola has
acted for almost all the noted tiatr directors, which include Rosario
Rodrigues, Prem Kumar, M Boyer, Roseferns, Prince Jacob, comedian Agostinho,
Milagres de Chandor, Filipe Almeida and others.
After doling colours
to directors’ comedian Dominic and Mariano Fernandes, Dola joined comedian
Agostinho’s troupe in tiatr ‘Police 2’. “It was a remarkable and totally
different role,” she reminisces, “where heart and soul was put into the
character of an honest and upright SP. Every dialogue delivered on stage
received audience response and the tiatr fans labelled me as ‘iron lady of
tiatr stage’.”
Although Dola wasn’t
part of the troupe when tiatr ‘Police 1’ was staged initially, she was roped in
when the same production was re-scheduled on stage by public demand. “But
‘Police 1’ was a hit in comparison to ‘Police 2’, hence the re-scheduling at a
later stage,” she added.
Dola admits that
tiatr directors Prince Jacob, Mariano Fernandes, Milagres de Chandor, comedian
Dominic, Agostinho and many other directors have given her amazing roles on the
tiatr stage. And as she enjoys playing different characters on stage, she has
performed in lead, villain and comedy roles as well.
In comparison to
different roles doled out on stage, Dola has exceeded villain more than any
other characters and she feels proud of her parents as she has inherited more
of ‘tiatristponn’ from her father, who was a pillar of the Konkani stage.
When it comes to
females joining the tiatr stage, there are always eyebrows raised and
speculations galore, but Dola has a different thought and reasoning about it.
“In any career there are always setbacks,” she continues, “negativity will
always follow, but it all depends on each individual. If you wish to flourish,
you can become big on stage.”
“Performance on stage
should never be a career,” Dola opines, “but merely a hobby. Enjoy it as a
hobby and passion and never join in only to earn a few bucks. Entry in the
field of tiatr should come about in order to establish a name on stage.”
“When an artiste
makes an entry in any troupe,” Dola shares through experience, “there’s
intermingling of seniors and juniors. And when good advice is provided by the
seniors, the juniors should accept it as it’s shared through experience.”
“If you are serious
with your talents,” Dola states, “then you can flourish on the tiatr stage. And
there are many, who are excelling and doing exceptionally well, as actors and
singers.”
Dola was last seen in
Irineu Gonsalves’ tiatr ‘Goyche Fuddari’, followed by Fr Nevel Gracias’ Lenten
show ‘Tim Dogaim Ek Zatolim’ staged in 2022. “If you have love for the stage,
then working under your director will help to do well and scale higher. Though
inherited so much from my parents, learning from directors and co-artistes has
helped me to become what I am today. Listening and obeying on the tiatr stage
is very important.”
When
asked about the stage name ‘Dola’, “it was actually my pet name,” she bluntly
said, “and when acting in my father’s tiatrs, the name continued and remained
there forever, among the directors, co-artistes and the audience as well.”